My writings - and those of others.
Eco Anxiety and Climate Grief
In a discussion a year ago before we were all locked down, one participant expressed the view that there was little we could do about climate change and we should grieve and accept the death of many things we now take for granted. Another expressed how she was trying to do make small changes in her personal life – like using laundry detergent processed in small sheets. I wondered whether small changes mattered in the face of their impact and thought we should get better at lobbying. All these expressed our anxiety. We’re now more likely to be anxious about new spikes in the virus or access to vaccines, but these feelings are still there.
Some practitioners of mental health are doing something about it. A recent New York Times article reveals some interesting examples. One practitioner noticed how her students were reacting when they said they were losing sleep or constantly worried about the effect of climate change. Another remarked that hearing activists report on current issues left her in tears. In the last five years anxiety has doubled from 13 to 26 perc cent, according to research conducted jointly by George Mason University and Yale.
One scientist, Britt Wray, decided to do something about it. She started a weekly newsletter called GenDread. She offers practical advice and asks questions of her readers about what should be the priorities – moving them from depression to focusing on realistic actions they might consider. She also recognizes that negative emotions also can relate to denial and can serve as an invitation to wake up. Using a common Covid-19 mantra, she minds us that we are in this together.
Most of us have experienced eco-distress. I have it when I buy food in supermarket plastic containers – and as a single person, find that I throw out far too much packaging and food waste. I’m even experimenting with a food box order, where portioned ingredients create less waste and packing materials are recyclable. I’m reminded that my anxiety is minor and that the mental health professional remind us that serious anxiety or depression needs therapy.
One such therapist works with anxious Americans in workshops – but also counsels India farmers who have real threats to their crops caused by changes in weather patterns that threaten their livelihood. This is a good reminder to us affluent North Americans how privileged we are in avoiding the brunt of the problem so far. She notes that some of her American participants are moved to volunteer.
We can also learn from our First Nations people who express their grief with a much closer recognition of their unity with the land – taken from them by settler first by seizing it and then creating practices that destroy it.
Dr Wray reminds us that supporting one another can reduce our stress. The sense that we are in this together creates hope – and studies support this. Her own hope was well demonstrated when, after dealing with her own anxiety, she and her husband decided to bring a new infant into our challenged world.
A friend also sent me a link to the site of a European writer who is tackling the mental health and spiritual dimension of these problems as well. you can find them here.
